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Wet and Wild Giveaway Hop... (starts May 20th and ends May 25th)
Fantasy Blog Hop... (starts June 27th and ends June 30th)
**More contests will be added as the schedule is updated.
Thanks for dropping by Blackraven's Erotic Cafe!
May 15th, 2013

SINFUL SIRENS BLOG HOP
Hosted by Guilty Pleasures and Under the Covers
Blog hop runs from 12:01 AM May15th through to 11:59 PM May 20th, 2013.
Are you a Sinful Siren?
We know you are! So come and join us at Under the Covers and Guilty Pleasures for our Sinful Sirens blog hop. We are back for a second year and this summer we want to heat things up until the only way we can cool down is with a dip in the ocean. Entice other sirens by sharing some of your favorite scorching hot reads!


The most potent lover she’s ever had…and the morning sickness to prove it!
Blackwater, Book 4
Lucy Rice knew that a night of uninhibited passion with sex-on-a-stick Reilly Jennings would leave a lasting impression on her body. But never in a million years did she expect to see a plus sign appear on that little white stick.
Pregnant? She can’t believe her eyes. When a second test confirms it, Lucy admits the truth. She’s about to be a one-night-stand mommy. How’s that for luck?
Reilly never wanted the responsibility of fatherhood, much less tie himself to an infuriating, headstrong woman like Lucy. Still, his sense of honor won’t let him abandon his baby like his biological parents abandoned him. Yet it isn’t long before he’s captivated by the coming baby—and the mother carrying it.
Lucy is rocked with all sorts of conflicting feelings for the father of her child. Unfortunately, she’s been down that road before, and it left her a blubbering mess. Not again. No way, no how. Except Reilly seems hell-bent on keeping her close. Maybe it’s the hormones, but Lucy’s beginning to forget why that’s a bad idea…
Product Warnings
This title contains a tender and romantic man bent on proving he can be more than a good time, and a woman in serious need of the love of an honorable man.

Sometimes out of the frying pan and into the fire is the best way to burn.
Naked Cowboys, Book 2
Amy Stark has it all together—except for chronic bad taste in men. She’s firmly in hands-off-all-men mode when a flat tire forces her to accept the help of exactly the type of man she’s sworn off. Arrogant, cocky and condescending.
When she runs into him again later that day and then finds out her brother has invited him for dinner, the fire between them has a sizzle of a different kind.
At eighteen, Buck Montgomery left home to make his mark on the bull-riding circuit. He may have had wild success in rodeo but his personal life is in the dust, and while he’s ready to start a new life he’s wary to expose his heart. Buck knows he should tell Amy the truth, but every time he opens his mouth, hers is right there with kisses like molten lava.
When his past resurfaces at the worst possible time, Buck can only wonder if Amy will love the man he has become…or if the man he was will chase her away.
Product Warnings
Contains barnyard language and clap-your-hands-over-your-mama’s-eyes sex between a cowboy with a checkered past and a ranch girl with all the right moves.
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Posted in contest, Sinful Sirens Giveaway Hop | 21 Comments »
May 3rd, 2013
Dangerous Submission by Lori Toland
Series: Dangerous Affairs
Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, GLBT, M/M, BDSM, Suspense

Summary:
British Agent Drake Steele never thought when he was hired on at the Serious Organised Crime Agency that his job would involve spanking a co-worker. But when the colleague is Lord Robbie Covington, the sexy red-headed computer hacker for SOCA and MI-6, Drake can’t agree fast enough to pop Robbie’s cherry and pull him into the sensual world of BDSM.
Now they are caught up in a web of lies as they pose as members of the jet-setting crowd. Drake and Robbie have to race against the clock to stop a weapons haul that could threaten the safety of all Europe. As their covers begin to fade and danger is closing in, protecting Robbie is Drake’s most important task, but neither man is ready for the moment when their hearts are put on the line.
Excerpt:
His eagerness to get started made me smile. I grabbed his shoulder and stopped. “Maybe you should take your shirt off before you get strapped in.”
He glanced down at it and took off his black thick-framed glasses. The apology he gave was muffled as he pulled his polo shirt off. Pale skin without a freckle anywhere on his slender frame made my mouth water. Unlike me, he had very little hair on his chest, just a tuft in the middle and a few stray hairs circling his flat brown nipples.
Encircling his slender wrist, I noticed how big my fingers appeared next to him. I guided his arms up and snapped the cuffs in place one by one. Once he was secure, I pulled on his bonds to make sure he couldn’t move too much.
Robbie pulled on them as well before he looked over his shoulder at me. “Why do you need to tie me down?”
“Because I’m not going to have you endanger yourself if you decide to move midstrike.”
Satisfied with my answer, he nodded, but as he turned away, he swallowed hard. He needed compassion but also needed to be aware of my competency.
I leaned in, placing my hand on his bare back to bring his attention to me. “Let’s get something straight right now. I won’t be questioned by you. You will do as I say, or I will turn you over my knee and spank you, regardless of where we are or who is in front of us.”
He flushed. “Anywhere, anytime?”
“Yes.” I punctuated the word with a crack of my whip.
He jerked, startled by the sound. “I’ll remember that, Sir,” he said.
As close as I was, the heat coming off him soaked through my clothes and into my body. He shivered, and it reverberated through every inch of my body. “Are you cold?” I asked.
“I’m fine, Sir.” The underlying tremor in his voice belied his calm demeanor, and he stayed tensed in anticipation of my next move. With him bound and waiting for my next touch, a heady thrill of power flowed through me.
If I stepped directly behind him, I was almost tall enough to notch my chin on the top of his head. The cologne he wore wafted up to me, and the dark scent beckoned me to come in closer.
Unable to resist temptation, I bowed my head to press my lips against his shoulder. He tasted salty from the light sheen of sweat, and the smell of his cologne mixing with his musk pushed me past the point of intelligent thought.
Without taking my mouth away from his delectable skin, I whispered, “These chains are also good for keeping you at my mercy. I can do anything I want, and there’s not much you can do to stop me.”
I expected him to stiffen against me in protest, but his eager cry came as a shock. “God, Drake, yes!” He shoved his hips back against me, the cleft of his arse sliding down my rock-hard prick.

Hello Lori and welcome to the Cafe. Let’s begin with you telling us a little about yourself and your newest release. What inspired this delicious story?
I was at GayDays here in Orlando and when I stopped by the leather booth, I felt inspired. There were leather whips and paddles and floggers and then a very tall muscular, hairy guy walked by in a Speedo. Somehow all of that mixed together in my mind and BAM! I had the beginnings of Dangerous Submission.
When writing a story, how do you keep the angst level high so that the reader remains completely engrossed in not only the story, but also with the characters?
I’m not big on angst, in writing my books or reading stories. Angsty stories tend to make me drop the book and not come back. In my stories, the tension between the characters and the need to see them together in their happily ever after is what keeps me going. I write romance, which by definition means the two characters will be together in the end, but the journey to the happily ever after is what I enjoy.
How much research do you have to do when writing a BDSM story? For example, have you ever visited a BDSM club, or do you have friends in the lifestyle who help you make sure the details are accurate?
I have researched the lifestyle extensively and yes, I have visited BDSM and kink clubs along with conventions where there are scenes and dungeons with doms and subs. I don’t personally participate in the lifestyle due to health issues but I do talk with friends who are doms and subs on the scene to discuss their lifestyle choices. I’m very open about being a writer and wanting to accurately portray the beauty of the BDSM world.
Why BDSM and M/M combined? What attracts you to these two genres?
I really enjoy writing the power exchange between two people, which is why I tend to write BDSM romance and I’ve been writing gay romance for over a decade so it just seems very natural to me to be writing both together. Exploring each character is a lot of fun so when I explore this side of them and their kink comes out, it only develops their personality. Like Robbie isn’t really a spoiled brat because he works hard at SOCA but he is used to getting his way. Drake is too so they definitely clash a few times over the course of the book.
What are 5 things that you’d like our readers to know about Lori Toland and her writing?
1. I’m gender blind. I don’t see a person’s gender. Instead, I see their personality.
2. I really have fun writing these stories. It’s my escape from real life, which is very overrated.
3. I let my characters lead me where they will. If I try to change them, they shut down and the story contracts and I never get anywhere.
4. I wish I was a cat.
5. I haven’t read the last Harry Potter book. Okay, I actually have but I was very sick with strep at the time of release and I don’t remember anything except there was a forest. I’m not sure what forest that is, but there you go.

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Tour Schedule
5/1/13
The Risque Redhead Reads
Smardy Pants Book Blog
5/2/13
Italian Brat’s Obsessions
Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews
5/3/13
Momma’s Books
Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe
5/6/13
Harlie Williams, Writer
Cryselle’s Bookshelf
5/7/13
Kinky Book Reviews
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5/8/13
What’s On the Bookshelf
Michelle Graham, Erotic Romance
5/9/13
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5/10/13
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Ramblings From This Chick
5/13/13
Erzabet’s Enchantments
Regina May Ross’s Blog
5/14/13
Sunset Reader Reviews
Mrs Condit & Friends Read Books
5/15/13
Passionate About Books
Shh Moms Reading

Posted in Author's Angels, contest, Dangerous Submission, Guest Author in the Spotlight, Lori Toland | 5 Comments »
April 30th, 2013
Straddling the Edge by Julie Prestsater
Series: Against the Wall, Book 3
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Length: 226 pages

Summary:
Summer McGallian … the scandalous home wrecker from Against the Wall and Between The Sheets. The one who stole her co-worker’s fiancé, the other woman, the one people whisper about and stay away from. Only for Summer, things aren’t always as they appear and she knows that better than anyone. She hasn’t been herself since she was in high school, when life was less complicated and relationships weren’t about making compromises to land the guy. When her heart is broken, there’s only one thing left for her to do … prove she isn’t who everyone thinks she is. And maybe, just maybe, she can get back to being comfortable in her own skin again, without input from a man. But when she encounters Sexy Guy, Dean Michaels, everything Summer has ever known about the opposite sex is about to change.
Dean Michaels knew he’d seen her somewhere before. What he never imagined was that the gorgeous woman in a baseball cap and hooded sweatshirt tossing back a beer in his favorite spot could be Summer McGallian—the woman who always looked like she’d stepped off the pages of a glamour magazine when he’d seen her from afar at work. And to make matters worse, she’s Chase Marino’s ex, the one guy who gets under his skin like no other. If the thought of being someone’s bitch in jail wasn’t enough to scare him, he would’ve strangled that bastard years ago and tossed the body in the Mojave Desert. But forget about Chase … Dean knew from the moment he saw Summer’s sexy smile and heard her cute laugh, she had to be his. And he won’t let anything get in the way of that.
The Against The Wall series isn’t just about steamy sex scenes and swoon-worthy romance, but about new friendships, undying love, and a ton of laughter. Enjoy the ride as you get to know and love Summer and Dean, just as you did Shelly and Matt, and Melissa and Tyler, in the third book, Straddling The Edge.

MEET THE CHARACTERS
Summer introduces Straddling The Edge …
Being the new kid in school is every teenage girl’s nightmare. Even worse is being the new teacher on campus. The other female teachers glare at you like you’ve wandered into enemy territory. They look at you like the newbie pledges in their old sorority houses, ready to teach you a lesson and ready to laugh their asses off when they finally break you.
That’s exactly how it was when I started teaching at Carver High School. Most of the staff were alums of the school and had known each other for years. It didn’t take long for me to figure out I was an outsider. They sure made me feel like it. Rumors spread like wildfire about how I was the bitchy whore who was bedding every male staff member on campus. I think I even heard one about how I’d screwed a football coach in the mailroom. Yuck!
When I started dating Chase, the crude remarks and evil sneers got worse. It didn’t help that I had apparently stolen the golden boy from the most popular and loved teacher on campus. I really had no idea they were still a thing. But that’s Chase, the perpetual lying, cheating bastard. He eventually played me too.
So now, I’m on my own. No Chase. No friends. And no life.
But that’s about to change.
There isn’t anything like women bonding over a douchebag ex-boyfriend to get the conversation going. And that’s exactly what I’m about to do with Shelly and Melissa, two of the funniest women I’ve ever met. And two women who I’m absolutely envious of because of their amazing friendship.
And there’s isn’t anything like meeting the man you’ve waited all your life for.
If you loved Matty in Against The Wall or Tyler in Between The Sheets, wait until you meet Dean. Get ready to meet your next book boyfriend, ladies. I’m willing to share him while you enjoy the read.

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Tour Schedule
4/25/13
Hesperia Loves Books
Read Your Writes Book Reviews
4/26/13
Reality Bites! Let’s Get Lost!!
Lori’s Book Blog
4/29/13
Love N. Books
The Review Wire
Readers Confession
4/30/13
Swoon Worth Books
Tattooed Book Review
Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe
5/1/13
Heart Breaking Reviews
My Life Beyond Labels
5/2/13
Cocktails and Books
Manic Readers Guest Author Blog
Sapphire Kande
5/3/13
My Secret Romance
Seductive Musings
Blackraven’s Reviews
5/6/13
Scorching Book Reviews
Under the Covers Book Blog
5/7/13
Three Chicks and Their Books
AJ’s Reading Nook
5/8/13
MBR’s Realm of Romance
Melinda Doizer Contemporary Romance Author
5/9/13
Sarah Aisling
SnifferWalk Books
5/10/13
Book Bitches Blog
Harlie’s Books
5/13/13
The Muse Unleashed
For The Love of Reading
5/14/13
Romancing the Book
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews/

Posted in Author's Angels, contest, Julie Prestsater, Straddling the Edge | 6 Comments »
April 26th, 2013
Down by Contact by Jami Davenport
Series: Seattle Lumberjacks, Book Three
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance

Summary:
After twelve years in the league, all Zach Murphy wants is a Super Bowl ring. He’s been about hard hits not smooth manners, about breaking quarterbacks not making small talk at cocktail parties. But now he’s shattered something else. After dumping a tray of drinks on the team owner’s snooty daughter and accidentally feeling up the Governor’s wife, his tenure with his team looks perilously short. And things are getting worse.
Life is looking up for Kelsie Carrington-Richmond. A onetime beauty pageant star and mean girl, she only recently stopped living out of her car. But both those times have passed. Her Finishing School for Real Men has a real shot, and the Seattle Lumberjacks have hired her to polish up their roughest player. Except…it’s Zach. Long ago she broke his heart. He’s just the beast she remembers—gruff, protective—but she’s nothing like the beauty from his past. Yet, getting knocked down happens, and getting back up makes a contender. And they both have the hearts of champions.
Excerpt:
DOWN BY CONTACT – A SEATTLE LUMBERJACKS ROMANCE by Jami Davenport
Excerpt
Kelsie Carrington glided across the room straight toward him. His Cactus Prairie High School crush here? In Seattle? What the fuck? Wasn’t halfway across the country far enough to escape her and those painful memories? He blinked several times, but there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with his vision. His one-date disaster balanced on a pair of heels so high the altitude should require an oxygen mask. Her blond hair shone as brightly as the gold in a coveted Super Bowl ring. Each graceful step of those long legs carried her closer to him.
He held his breath and prayed she didn’t recognize him. Just like old times, Kelsie looked right through him, as if he didn’t exist. Her patent beauty-queen smile was plastered across her perfectly made-up face. Damn, seeing her transported him back to being an awkward teenage boy who only fit in on the football field. Her fake smile reminded him how stupid he’d been to fall for her particular brand of poison. Her perfect face dredged up a shitload of painful emotions.
Oh, yeah, painful all right. Zach Murphy had fallen in love once and been carried out of the game on a stretcher. He’d stick with football. Football gave him life, while women sucked the life out of him. Football made sense to him. Women didn’t.
Especially this woman.
He glanced to either side to see if any of his teammates noticed the fucking bleeding heart dangling on his sleeve. They were too busy staring at Kelsie—she’d always had that effect on men. Well, except for the king of asshole quarterbacks, Tyler Harris. Zach gave Harris a few grudging points for tossing out his womanizer ways and only having eyes for his sassy girlfriend.
Yet something on Zach’s face must have clued Harris in. Like a hungry hyena catching the scent of wounded prey, Harris’s sharp gaze moved from Zach to Kelsie and back again. The quarterback possessed this uncanny ability to dissect an enemy’s weakness—and despite being teammates, they were enemies. One corner of the fuckhead’s mouth turned up in a knowing smirk. He nodded briefly at Zach and returned to his conversation with his hot little girlfriend, even though Zach knew damn well the jerk kept one eye on him.
Ignoring Harris, Zach scratched his chin and studied Kelsie. What the hell was the cause of his most humiliating moment in a lifetime of humiliating moments doing here a thousand miles from Texas, invading his territory?
He blinked a few times and looked again. Really looked beyond the beauty-queen face and body. Something was very wrong with this picture. A loaded tray of drinks teetered precariously on the palm of Kelsie’s raised hand as she moved in and out of the crowd. Rich girl Kel had never worked a real job in her life. Yet, he doubted she was serving drinks just for the unique opportunity to slum with the common folk.
Damn, maybe his life wasn’t the only thing that’d changed.
Kelsie scanned the room then did a double take. Their eyes met and crashed with the intensity of a wrong-way collision on I-5. The fake smile faltered. The gliding stopped. She looked around the room as if planning an escape route. Then she straightened her shoulders and turned on the charm, gracing him with her halogen smile—perfect white teeth and hot red lips. Really hot. As if she were happy to see him.
Bullshit.
Zach scowled his best don’t-fuck-with-me scowl.
Kelsie faltered. Her stride went from graceful to jerky. The smile slipped off her face, replaced by what appeared to be panic. She pivoted on her impossibly high heels and fired up the after-burners.
Oh, no, she wasn’t getting away this easily. Zach jumped to his feet and gave chase, single-mindedly focused on confronting her, something he’d been dying to do since his senior year of high school. Yeah, stupid idea, but he’d never been one for thinking before reacting, a trait which worked well in football, not so well in real life.
She glanced over her shoulder, her blue eyes filled with what looked like fear, as if she expected him to do physical damage to her or some stupid-assed thing like that.
Zach cornered her near the head table. Kelsie changed directions and charged past him. He spun around to follow, refusing to let her off that easily. He clipped her full tray drinks with his elbow. She lurched with the tray, but it was too late. Helpless, Zach watched the disaster happen in slow motion.
The tray teetered back and forth, as Kelsie desperately fought to gain control. The tray won. Glasses of wine sprayed red, white, and pink across the tablecloth, looking like a tie-dye session gone mad. Goblets shattered. Women screamed as wine drenched expensive evening gowns. The team owner leapt to his feet, his sputtering laced with profanity as red wine coated his custom-tux and white shirt. His spoiled daughter, Veronica, didn’t hold anything back either, loudly insulting the size of Zach’s brain and his dick. Closest to the debacle, the governor’s wife leapt to her feet, her low-cut sequined evening gown hung on her like a limp rag. Red wine and mimosas dribbled down her neck and chest and disappeared in her cleavage. Zach grabbed a napkin and desperately blotted at the wine. In his panic, he swiped the napkin across the plump mounds of her breasts. She screamed as if he’d purposely groped her. HughJack, the team’s head coach, grabbed him and pulled him away.
“I’m sorry. Oh, fucking hell. I’m so sorry.” Zach wanted to crawl under the nearest boulder.
“What did you think you were doing?” Coach spoke in that deadly calm, quiet voice that struck fear in the meanest of linemen. Zach preferred HughJack’s ranting and notorious clipboard throwing to that voice.
“I—I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
Veronica, still sputtering and looking for blood, turned on Kelsie. “You! How could you be so stupid?”
“I—I—” Kelsie shoved her fist in her mouth, obviously horrified at the carnage she’d helped cause. She lifted her gaze to Zach’s. Anger blazed in her stormy blue eyes.
Wait one fucking minute. She blamed him? He hadn’t done one damn thing other than be where he was supposed to be—a charity benefit for a charity whose name he couldn’t even remember. She was the one who didn’t belong here.
Jerking her gaze away from his, Kelsie dropped to the floor and started wiping up the mess with any napkin she could confiscate from the nearby tables. Several other staff joined in the fray, wiping tables, cleaning up the mess, and comforting wet, angry guests.
Zach debated on whether or not to fade into the background or make her night that much worse. Once again, she’d made him look like a backwards hick, her special talent.
A fat, sweating chef with chocolate stains on his white apron waddled out of the kitchen and spoke in a harsh whisper to Kelsie. “You idiot. Did you do this?”
Kelsie didn’t look up, just worked frantically to clean up the mess. The chef bent down and pointed a pudgy finger in her direction. “You’re fired. Get the hell out of here. I’ll be contacting you for reimbursement for the damages.” He kept his voice low, but Zach heard him.
Zach stepped forward, a knight not exactly comfortable in his dinner-jacket armor. “Apologize to the lady. It was an accident, and your behavior is abusive.”
The chef gritted his teeth and spoke loud enough for only Zach to hear. “Who the hell are you? Some dumb jock? You probably beat up your girlfriend on a regular basis. And you accuse me of abuse?”
Zach exploded and charged. Just before he made contact, two defensive linemen, big suckers, yanked him backward and pinned his arms behind his back. Zach lunged at the fat chef again, dragging the linemen with him. More teammates jumped into the fray and held him back. Several others restrained the chef, who hurled accusations at Zach and Kelsie.
“Stop it, you dumb shit.” Harris smacked Zach on the arm none too gently. Zach grunted and squinted into the harsh light glaring in his eyes. Someone had a camera trained on him.
Harris stepped in front of Zach, blocked the cameraman, and faced the furious cook. “Let’s calm down and be civilized. It was an accident.” He spoke in an aside to his teammates. “Let them go.” The men did as Harris ordered. The cook made a move toward Zach but Harris countered it, placing his body between the two dueling men. He put his hand on Zach’s chest and pushed. Zach staggered back a step, reining in his temper.
He’d done it again. Screwed up in a social situation and dragged the whole team down with him. His new team. The ones who were counting on him to be a leader on and off the field. He’d led them, all right, almost into a brawl.

Real Men Only Need One Fork
By Jami Davenport
I write a popular sports romance series featuring the Seattle Lumberjacks, a fictional Seattle NFL team. The following three books have been published so far:
Fourth and Goal, featuring wide receiver Derek Ramsey
Forward Passes, featuring bad boy quarterback Tyler Harris
Down by Contact, featuring linebacker Zach Murphy
The next two books in the series are under contract and under way. Stay tuned.
Down by Contact is my latest release and my Inspiration for Down by Contact was actually quite close to home, as in living in my home.
I came up with the idea for Down by Contact thanks to my husband, aka, SportsGuy (as I’ve christened him), was a jock all through high school and college. He lived for playing sports and was quite good at it, good enough to be drafted by the Boston Red Sox out of high school and to be offered a few football scholarships to decent colleges. He enlisted in the Army instead, but that’s another story.
SportsGuy is one of those guys that you are certain has been raised by wolves. In fact, his mother, exasperated with his total obliviousness when it came to basic manners insisted he go to etiquette school when he was in his early 20s. He did go, and while he can set a mean table, he still says inappropriate things at inappropriate times, burps, belches, and you can guess what else in the worst possible locales.
You can’t teach an old dog, new tricks, can you? Well, sorta, you can. SportsGuy knows how to behave, he just chooses not to because it’s not a priority to him, and he’s always been a rebel at heart. I know that professional athletes are often “forced” to work with image consultants, and I’ve read several sports romance novels with that very plot. So I wanted something just a bit different. Since SportsGuy had attended etiquette school, I decided that my linebacker hero needed to go to etiquette school. Much to my surprise, research revealed that there are professional athletes’ finishing schools.
Thanks to my online research and my personal experiences/research with SportsGuy, I had a good idea of the types of things that would be taught in a finishing school for real men. SportsGuy gave me plenty of fodder for the uncouth things that Zach says and does in my book.
“He’d done it again. Screwed up in a social situation and dragged the whole team down with him. His new team. The ones who were counting on him to be a leader on and off the field. He’d led them, all right, almost into a brawl.” — Jami Davenport Down by Contact It’s showtime. Available from Boroughs Publishing Group
After twelve years in the league, all Zach Murphy wants is a Super Bowl ring. He’s been about hard hits not smooth manners, about breaking quarterbacks not making small talk at cocktail parties. But now he’s shattered something else. After dumping a tray of drinks on the team owner’s snooty daughter and accidentally feeling up the Governor’s wife, his tenure with his team looks perilously short. And things are getting worse.
Life is looking up for Kelsie Carrington-Richmond. A onetime beauty pageant star and mean girl, she only recently stopped living out of her car. But both those times have passed. Her Finishing School for Real Men has a real shot, and the Seattle Lumberjacks have hired her to polish up their roughest player. Except…it’s Zach. Long ago she broke his heart. He’s just the beast she remembers—gruff, protective—but she’s nothing like the beauty from his past.
Yet, getting knocked down happens, and getting back up makes a contender. And they both have the hearts of champions.
Read the first chapter here:
http://www.jamidavenport.com/DownbyContact.html
Purchase information will be listed here:
http://www.jamidavenport.com
Book Trailer:
http://youtu.be/neLn7ssdEBc

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Tour Schedule
4/25/13
Le’BookSquirrel
Day Dreaming Book Reviews
MyFictionNook
4/26/13
Reviewing in Chaos
Sarah Aisling
Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe
4/29/13
Talk Supe
Sunset Reader Reviews
4/30/13
Turning the Pages
Lori’s Book Blog
Reading, Eating & Dreaming
5/1/13
THESUBCLUBbooks
Musings From An Addicted Reader
Books Books and More Books
5/2/13
Simply Ali
Love N. Books
StoreyBook Reviews
5/3/13
Book Bitches Blog
HEA Romances With A Little Kick
A Little Fiction of Every Flavour
5/6/13
Shh Moms Reading
Manic Readers Guest Author Blog
Not Now…Mommy’s Reading
5/7/13
We Love Kink
Harlie’s Books
deal sharing aunt
5/8/13
Hesperia Loves Books
Delighted Reader
Dear Brighton
Guilty Pleasures

Posted in Author's Angels, contest, Down by Contact | 5 Comments »
April 25th, 2013

Enter below & win Damien (well, his story *wink*) and more!!
Prizes below – US only & must be 18 years old to enter & win:

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Posted in Claim Me Giveaway Hop, contest | No Comments »
April 25th, 2013

Don’t Forget!
If you’re an author who writes western romances and would like for us to PIMP your book on Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy, which occurs every Thursday, drop us a line with the information shown below including the cover at [email protected] and we’ll hook you up.
With that being said…our author on deck this week is Myla Lace’s Boots and Lace

Title: Boots and Lace
Series: Ugly Stick Saloon
Author: Myla Jackson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Western/Cowboys, BDSM/Kink, Menage a Trois
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Length: 109 pages

Summary:
She wants no strings…but he wants it all.
Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 4
After her philandering husband left her, Lacey Lambert found sanctuary, and a better class of friends, at the Ugly Stick Saloon. She learned that the best revenge—against her ex, and the “friends” who kicked her out of the Temptation Garden Club—is to live life to the fullest.
Now that her best friend is moving out of her apartment building, she’s feeling a little lonely. And more than ready for a little commitment-free sex with the hot new downstairs tenant.
Freshly divorced, Nick McBride isn’t looking for another failed relationship. But when the luscious brunette offers no-strings sex—with him and his brother—he can’t come up with a good reason to refuse.
After he gets over the shock that she likes it loud, long, and in front of an open window, he finds himself wanting more time with her. Maybe even on a permanent basis. But it’ll take every ounce of his cowboy charms to convince her to let him sweep her off her feet.
Product Warnings
Contains a motorcycle-ridin’ cowboy, a wild-and-free woman who doesn’t care what the town biddies think, and semi-public sex loud enough to set tongues a-waggin’!
Excerpt
Copyright © 2012 Myla Jackson
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
The cowboy at the bar had captured Lacey Lambert’s attention from the beginning, with his dark good looks and an expression so somber it made her sad. He sat by himself, head down, staring into his mug of beer.
As Lacey waited tables in the busy Ugly Stick Saloon, her gaze wandered back to him more and more.
Fellow waitress Kendall Mason passed her carrying a tray full of whiskey shooters and beer. “Did you see him?” she whispered.
Lacey, on her way back to the bar with an empty tray, played dumb and asked, “See who?”
Kendall stopped long enough to throw a frown. “Seriously? The smokin’ hot cowboy at the bar. You can’t miss him.”
Lacey Lambert hadn’t missed him. In fact she could barely concentrate on her duties with the man sitting in the seat next to where she stopped to place her orders with Libby, the bartender. Every time she pulled up to the bar, her heartbeat fluttered and she forgot how to breathe.
All bad news as far as she was concerned. Flirting, having sex, playing around were all fine in her books, but getting involved? No way.
Lacey shrugged. “So, he’s cute.”
“Honey, he’s not cute, he’s…” Kendall fanned her face. “Va-va-va-voom!”
“Now, what would Ed think if he heard you talking like that?”
“He’d know I was only looking out for my best friend. He has nothing to worry about. I’m totally in love with my hunka-hunka-burnin’ love.”
Lacey shrugged. “So, the cowboy is easy on the eyes. He’s probably full of himself.” Her ex had been one of those. Easy to look at and easy with the women. Thus the “ex” part to the equation. “I’m not interested.”
“Such a shame. I bet he’s nice and nicer in bed.”
“Not many good-looking guys are nice. And most aren’t that great in bed.”
Kendall glared at Lacey. “Ed is. And Jackson and Luke and Mark from what Audrey and Libby say—”
Lacey raised her empty hand. “Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. I don’t have time to flirt. I have an order to fill.”
“I’ll take your tables if you want to work on getting his number.”
A cowboy at one of the tables hollered, “Kendall! We gonna get those shooters sometime today?”
“Coming,” Kendall called out. To Lacey she said, “Think about it. You could use a man in your life.”
“They’re only good for one thing.”
“Sex?”
“Okay, two.” Lacey grinned. “Sex and taking out the trash.”
“You’re hopeless. What happened to the carefree, happy-go-lucky roommate I knew?”
“You moved out with a gorgeous cowboy.” Lacey sighed. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Same here.”
The customer yelled again. “Kendall!”
“Keep your pants on. I’m coming.” Kendall scooted away from Lacey.
Lacey sucked in her breath and proceeded to the bar.
A beautiful woman had planted herself in the seat beside the brooding cowboy. Her plain companion sat on the other side of her. In less than a minute, a man sashayed up to the prettier girl and asked her to dance.
She bounced out of her seat and led the way to the dance floor, the cowboy following.
Lacey’s dark cowboy glanced up briefly from his beer, his gaze going to the pretty girl’s not-as-pretty friend.
The woman sat facing the dancing, and heaved a sigh, a smile plastered to her face, her toe tapping to the beat of the music.
Lacey placed her order with Libby and made another pass through the saloon, delivering full glasses and collecting empties. When she returned to the bar, the pretty girl was just sitting down when another cowboy asked her to dance.
Off she went again, leaving her friend at the bar.
Lacey’s heart went out to the girl. She wasn’t exactly pretty, but she had a nice smile and just a few extra pounds.
All the while Lacey took and delivered orders, she watched the bar, the cowboy and the women beside him.
After the fourth time the skinny woman left her chunkier friend alone to dance with another cowboy, the dark-haired cowboy pushed back from the bar and stood, a frown creasing his forehead, the first change to his expression since Lacey had started watching the man.
He half-bowed, saying something to the sunny-faced big girl.
Her eyes lit up and she hopped off her barstool, lighter on her feet than Lacey would have thought.
The cowboy held out his arm, she took it, her smile widening as he led her to the dance floor. They took off in a lively two-step.
Lacey’s heart lightened for the girl, and then she frowned.
Damn. Kendall had been right. The brooding cowboy was nice. While all the other cowboys had passed the girl by, the dark-eyed one asked her to dance, giving her the thrill of her life.
When the song ended, the cowboy returned her to her seat and bowed over her hand, thanked her and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
The woman’s face flushed a pretty pink and she batted her eyes.
Double damn. Lacey had wanted to count him off as another pretty boy, all looks, no substance, and he’d proved her wrong.
Not long after, the women left and the man returned to his beer.
He’d been there for over an hour and Lacey hadn’t flirted with him once. Unusual for Lacey who’d shucked inhibitions when she’d filed for divorce. Still, the opportunity had passed and flirting now would be a little too late and awkward.
It being a weeknight, the saloon closed at midnight, patrons filtering out one by one until the only customer left was the cowboy at the bar. Lacey had let him sit there even after the saloon closed because he was handsome, he’d made a girl’s night and he looked as lonely as she felt. But the place was clean and the others would want to hit the road. No matter how good looking and nice, he had to leave.
Lacey sighed and leaned against the counter. “Sorry, cowboy, the bar is closed.”
He glanced up, his brown eyes so dark they looked black in the dim lighting. “I didn’t realize…” The man stood, settled his cowboy hat on his head and turned to leave.
“You can come back tomorrow,” Lacey offered. “It beats spending your evening alone…” she added beneath her breath.
His gaze captured hers and a smile quirked the corners of his lips. “Might just do that, and you’re right—it beats being alone.” The cowboy tipped his hat and left.
What was wrong with her tonight? Normally, Lacey would have flirted with the stranger and teased a smile out of him. But something had stopped her. Perhaps it was the way he’d kept to himself as if he wanted to be alone in a room full of people. More likely she’d steered clear because he was too good looking for his own good or hers. She had a hard time resisting a handsome face.
As her cowboy departed, Lacey sighed. So much for making it an interesting night. Instead of a one-night stand with a sexy hunk, she’d be going home to her empty apartment building.
“Place is clean enough. You ladies go home.” Audrey Anderson, owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon, stood on her tiptoes, shoved the last bottle of whiskey onto the glass shelf behind the bar and lifted her strawberry-blond hair off the back of her neck. “Holy cow. Could it get any hotter? I can’t wait to get home to a cool shower.”
“And a hot cowboy?” Lacey quipped.
Jackson Gray Wolf was one of the hottest Kiowa cowboys in the county, next to his twin brothers, Mark and Luke. Audrey had sampled all three and only hinted at how great they were, before she claimed the oldest, Jackson. “He is pretty hot, isn’t he?” Audrey grinned.
“Yeah.” Lacey sighed, her mind on the last cowboy to leave the bar.
Audrey had Jackson waiting for her at home. Kendall had Ed Judson. Libby had Mark and Luke Gray Wolf and Isabella had the O’Brien brothers. Which left Lacey where?
Alone.
Lacey straightened her shoulders. Alone was better than married to an ass, which her ex had been.
“You gonna be all right?” Kendall Mason slipped an arm around Lacey’s waist and squeezed. “I feel like I’m deserting you, leaving you all alone in the apartment building, and all.”
Lacey pasted a smile on her face and hugged her friend. “Just remember, if you and Ed ever need a third to keep the sex education lessons rolling, I’m your gal.” The offer was only superficial. Though she’d had sex with Kendall and Ed, she didn’t want to cause any strife between the pair. They were perfect for each other all on their own.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kendall tugged the apron over her head and hung it on a hook. “I’m serious. You should stop by on your way home.”
“No, sweetie. I wouldn’t dream of horning in on your first night alone with Ed in your new house. Besides, Cory McBride is supposed to have moved into the apartment below mine today.” Lacey smoothed a hand over her hair. “I need to give him a proper welcome.”
“Lacey.” Kendall shook her head. “Just remember, he’s only twenty-one. A baby.”
“Like you?” Lacey’s lips quirked upward. “Old enough to be legal and young enough to have plenty of stamina. Besides, I’m only twenty-eight. Hardly a hag.”
“You’re by no means a hag. But don’t scare the poor boy. We need him here on Ladies’ Night. He draws a big crowd and he needs the tips to help pay for college. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him date any of the women who hang out at the bar. He might not be into girls.”
“Hot damn.” Lacey clapped her hands together and rubbed them. “A challenge.”
Kendall frowned. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”
“Don’t worry, Kendall, sweetheart. I won’t wear the boy out…much.” Lacey plumped her breasts and tugged up her cutoff jeans, showing a little more of her rounded derrière. “From the way the child dances, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a little more exercise. If he swings the other way, well then, no harm, no foul.”
“Lacey, you crack me up. When are you going to find a man and settle down?”
Lacey’s smile faded. “Honey, been there, done that, have scars to prove it. I’m thinking I might go for a woman next time. I have to admit, you were pretty damned tempting.”
Kendall blushed. “You know that if I wasn’t so into Ed, I’d be all over you.”
“Thanks, hon, but you’re the commitment type. You’d have me running screaming in the other direction. I’m all about having fun and no strings. You know me. Keep me hot and horny and the old biddies’ tongues a-waggin’ and I’m happy.” After the women of the Temptation Garden Club had snubbed her, she loved yanking their chains. Her chest still ached when she thought about how cruel they’d been to her when she’d been in the right to divorce her cheating ex-husband.
Kendall patted Lacey’s arm. “Someday you’ll have to get over what those old biddies did to you. They aren’t worth gettin’ your dander up over.”
“I know. It still galls me that they were supposed to be my friends.” Lacey sucked in a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. “I’m fine now. Even better with the friends I’ve made at the Ugly Stick.”
“Well, the offer’s open if you wanna come over.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” Lacey’s eyes misted.
“What happened with the cute cowboy at the bar?” Kendall waggled her brows. “With a little encouragement, he might have escorted you home.”
“I didn’t have time to flirt.”
“Ha! You always flirt.” Kendall crossed her arms.
Lacey shrugged. “He had a do not disturb sign written across his forehead.”
“That never stopped you.” Kendall’s eyes narrowed. “You really aren’t on your game.”
“Go home.” Lacey waved her hands at her friend. “Ed’s bound to be naked waiting at the door for you.”
Kendall grinned. “Yeah, he did that our last night in the apartment. God, he was cute. Guess I’d better get home before some ho bag finds him first.” She hugged Lacey and sprinted out the back.
Lacey left before Audrey could corner her and give her the third degree about why she’d walked around all night down-in-the mouth and glum. Kendall and Ed’s move from the apartment house to their new home had her in a funk so blue she couldn’t seem to climb out. The empty apartment house reminded her of how alone she really was in Temptation, Texas.
Her foot barely tapped the gas as she crept home to the empty house. Not until she pulled into the drive and parked next to Cory’s convertible did she remember that she wouldn’t be alone, if the new neighbor was still awake. And if the light burning in the window downstairs and the jumble of empty boxes stacked on the front porch were any indication, Cory was still up. If she hurried she could pop a frozen pizza in the microwave and be back down before he called it a night.
Cory was a little young for her, but any company tonight was better than going back to her apartment and being alone. Later, she’d break out her vibrator and satisfy that itch that had been growing since she’d let the hot cowboy at the bar go without coming on to him.


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Posted in Boots and Lace, contest, Myla Jackson, Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy Day | 4 Comments »
April 23rd, 2013

Toni Aleo a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic is the author of the fabulous Assassins Hockey Series — Join us for the celebration of the re-release of The Assassins Hockey Series including: Taking Shots; Trying to Score and Empty Net – on sale 4/23/13:

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About the Books
Taking Shots:
In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.
No matter how hard she tries, Eleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.
A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the girls, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside throw her insecurities out the window before she misses out on a shot at love.
Trying to Score:
In a captivating novel of hockey and healing hearts, the newest member of the Nashville Assassins pulls a power play to make things right with the one that got away.
Fallon Parker’s dream has always been to turn her family’s wine company into a runaway success and eventually to start a cellar of her own. Since graduating from college, she has worked relentlessly to make that dream a reality, especially after taking a chance on love—and losing. By the time Fallon becomes an official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, she feels like all her hard work is finally paying off. And then the man who broke her heart skates back into her life.
On the ice, Lucas Brooks is the NHL’s leading scorer—at least when he’s not in the box. Off the ice, he’s a mess, with all his anger and misery bottled up inside. He threw away the most important person in his life and has regretted it ever since. But when Lucas returns to Nashville in a trade, he’s determined to convince Fallon that he’s a changed man. The attraction is still there. The tension is electrifying. But the odds are stacked against them—especially after Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a devastating secret.
Empty Net:
The chiseled men of the Nashville Assassins can make anything happen when they go all-out for the women they want—even turn a one-night stand into a happily ever after.
Audrey Parker is up against the boards. She’s stuck in a job she hates and pining for a total jerk. Meanwhile, her sister Fallon is moving out and getting married to hockey star Lucas Brooks. Where is Audrey’s Prince Charming? Nothing she does has ever seemed to be good enough for any of the men in her life. Audrey’s about to hit rock bottom . . . until she wakes up next to Tate Odder.
The thrill of moving up from the minors to the Nashville Assassins was a welcome distraction. But not even becoming the first rookie goalie to tally three shutouts in the Stanley Cup Finals alleviates the pain. With the loss of his parents and sister weighing as heavily on his soul as ever, Tate Odder can’t keep pretending he’s okay. That’s when he meets smart, sexy Audrey. Her gentle warmth and quirky sense of humor make him feel whole for the first time in too long. But to stay that way forever, Tate must find a way to accept his past and learn to live for love.
And, look for FALLING FOR THE BACKUP Novella & BLUE LINES in August!
BLUE LINES:
Opposites do more than just attract in Toni Aleo’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.
The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him—wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lie behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test.
Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.
Buy her books here

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April 18th, 2013
Short Rides by Lorelei James
Series: Rough Riders
Publisher: LJLA, LLC
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Western/Cowboys, Anthology
Length: 169 pages

Summary:
Short Rides is an anthology compilation of two novellas and one short story in the Rough Riders world. These are NOT meant to be read as standalone stories, but are a peek into favorite character’s lives after the happily ever after…
The stories included in the Short Rides anthology are:
King of Hearts* – Deputy Cam McKay deals with a murder/suicide case on Valentine’s Day.
Rough Road – Chassie, Trevor and Edgard Glanzer spend a romantic weekend away from the ranch and kids celebrating their anniversary…only to return home to face their biggest challenge yet.
All Knocked Up – Keely and Jack Donohue are having a baby. Given Keely’s raging pregnancy hormones, will Jack need to wear a cup in the delivery room?
*previously published in the Guns and Roses anthology in 2012
Excerpt:
“Mama, what’s a faggot?”
Chassie’s entire body seized up and she nearly dropped the bowl she was washing. She turned her head and met the startled eyes of her husband Trevor, who was packaging leftovers on the counter beside her. She managed to ask, “Where’d you hear that word?” in a steady voice.
“At school. A third-grader said my dads were faggots.”
She briefly closed her eyes. Living an unconventional lifestyle in a conservative rural area guaranteed this question would come up at some point—but she hadn’t expected it this soon. Their six-year-old son Westin had just started first grade a month ago.
Chassie rinsed and dried her hands before she turned around. “How about if we wait to talk about it until Papai is done giving Max his bath? You can stay up a little later tonight.”
Westin’s big blue eyes were somber, suspicious of the bribe. But he nodded and returned to his “homework”—an activity book they’d purchased after his disappointment at not having schoolwork every night in first grade.
Trevor came over and set his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her temple and whispered, “Come on, Chass. Baby, take a deep breath. We’ll get through this. That word doesn’t have the power to destroy what we’ve built unless we let it.”
She nuzzled his jaw. “I know that. It’s just…”
“Mama!” A little person slammed into the backs of her legs. She glanced down. A naked little person.
Two-year-old Max grinned at her, his brown eyes triumphant, his dark hair sopping wet.
Edgard sauntered into the kitchen, a bath towel draped over his forearm. “That boy is as slippery as an eel.” He wrapped the towel around Max like a straightjacket and hoisted him up amidst Max’s happy shrieks and giggles. “Kiss Mama and Daddy goodnight, little streaker. Then if we can wrassle your jammies on fast, we’ll have time for one book.”
“Two books!”
Chassie smooched both of Max’s chubby cheeks and smoothed her hand over his wet hair. “’Night, Max. Love you.”
Trevor kissed Max’s forehead. “Love you son, ’night.”
Edgard’s gaze winged between Chassie and Trevor. He mouthed, “Problem?”
“I’ll fill you in upstairs. I need to check on Sophia anyway,” Trevor said. He looked at Chassie. “I’ll tuck her in if she hasn’t already crashed.”
Four-year-old Sophia ran at such high speed all day that many nights she conked out while watching TV or playing in her room.
The guys disappeared upstairs.
Chassie finished cleaning the kitchen and headed to the basement to throw a load of clothes in the washer. Her mind had locked on Westin’s question. She knew one thing about her thoughtful son—the taunt hadn’t been tossed at him just today. Westin tried to figure things out on his own, so she worried he’d been dealing with defining the nasty word for longer than a day.
She leaned against the wall, fighting tears, fighting memories of the cruelty directed at her growing up. The jeers—lazy Indian, ugly squaw—still lingered years later. Back then she’d been so shy she hadn’t fought back. Her brother Dag might’ve gone after her tormentors, but he’d been fighting his own demons. No doubt he’d had the word faggot hurled at him.
What really caused that long ago hurt to deepen was the knowledge that if their father had known Dag’s sexual orientation, he would’ve flung that word at his son without hesitation.
When Chassie, Edgard and Trevor decided to add kids to their family, they all three worked every day to make sure their children knew they were loved. To make sure their children knew their parents loved each other. And to show them that love is what built and what sustained their lives. Especially when it was love that a lot of people didn’t understand.
Chassie held on to that thought as she scaled the stairs.
* * * *
Trevor plugged in the nightlight and left the door open a crack before he headed down the hallway to the master bedroom.
He removed his long-sleeved shirt and T-shirt, tossing them in the hamper along with his dirty jeans. After washing his face and arms, he slipped on a pair of black sweatpants and a gray tank top. He’d need to channel his frustration after they talked to Westin, because guaranteed he’d wanna punch the shit out of something.
Faggots. Who taunted a kid—a kind, innocent little boy—with that term?
You would have.
Goddamn. Trevor didn’t want to think along those lines, to remember the judgmental asshole he’d been at one time. He’d been raised that way—as had Chassie and Edgard—which was why they were raising their kids differently.
He perched on the edge of their gigantic custom-made bed, forearms resting on his thighs, his face aimed at the carpet. Westin and Sophia were aware their family was different from the norm. But due to divorces and remarriages, didn’t most kids these days deal with multiple parents? How was it anyone’s business how they lived in their own home? Or how they loved each other? He’d bet the ranch very few traditional family units were as attuned to each other as theirs. They had to work harder at communication because of having a third partner. And he wouldn’t have it any other way—regardless of the societal repercussions.
Footsteps fell across the carpet. A pause. “Did you mean to leave the light on in Sophia’s room?” Edgard asked.
“No. Guess my mind was elsewhere.” Trevor glanced up. “Was she still awake?”
“Nah. She just yanked the covers over her head. I shut the light off.”
“Thanks. And Max?”
“Out. He didn’t last through one book, let alone two.” Edgard gave Trevor a once-over. “We working out tonight?”
“I’ll need to hit the heavy bag after…”
“After what?”
He sighed.
“Trev, what’s goin’ on?”
So Trevor told him.
Edgard didn’t say anything. Then he crouched in front of Trevor to get his attention. “That’s not all of what’s bugging you.”
The man knew him so well. Trevor reached out and ran the back of his knuckles along Edgard’s jaw. He hadn’t shaved for a day and Trevor had the sudden need to feel beard burn on the inside of his thighs. On his chest. Scraping on his cheeks and neck as he kissed Edgard senseless.
“Dangerous to keep lookin’ at me like that, meu amor. Burning me alive with those fiery eyes of yours won’t make me forget the issue at hand, as much as I’d like to.”
“I know.” Trevor dropped his hand. “I fuckin’ hate that I used to be that type of kid Westin is dealin’ with. Anything I didn’t understand, I belittled. I laughed when I made kids cry. Laughed. Jesus. How many people I bullied growing up would say I’m getting what I deserve? Seeing my son cry.” He exhaled. “I’m to the point I can handle what anyone calls us. But it breaks my damn heart that Westin is hearing that shit.”
“Hey. You’re not the same man you were. Thank God for that.” Edgard stood and held his hand out to Trevor. “Worrying about karma coming back to bite you in the ass won’t help us now.”
As soon as he was upright, Trevor tugged Edgard against his body and buried his face in Edgard’s neck. “I’m grateful every damn day that we have this life.”
“Me too. We knew goin’ into it, it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Some days I can’t believe we’ve all been together eight years. And other days, I feel like my life started when I met Chassie and you came back.” Trevor lifted his head. “Do you think we oughta cancel—”
Edgard covered his mouth with a brief kiss. “No. The three of us need the time together. Chassie will be relieved that we’d planned to keep Westin out of school tomorrow anyway.”
“So we’re all set?”
“Yep.”
Trevor grinned. “Chass is really gonna be surprised.”
“I was surprised. It was a sweet, romantic thing to plan, Trev.”
“What can I say? You and Chassie bring out the best in me.” Trevor kissed him, more than a soft peck but less than the tongue tangling soul kiss he preferred. “Let’s go talk to our son.”

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4/17/13
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April 17th, 2013

Don’t Forget!
If you’re a GLBT author and would like for us to PIMP your book on Man-Love-Day which occurs every Wednesday, drop us a line with the information shown below including the cover at [email protected] and we’ll hook you up.
With that being said…our author on deck this week is Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton’s Family Man

Title: Family Man
Authors: Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton
Genre: M/M, GLBT, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Length: 33,115 word count
Summary:
Sometimes family chooses you.
How does a man get to be forty without knowing whether he’s gay? That’s a question Vince Fierro is almost afraid to answer. If he is gay, it’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, he can’t help but wonder if he’s been playing for the wrong team.
There’s only one way to settle it, once and for all—head for Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.
Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek to the sultry strains of Coltrane, Trey finds himself wanting to help Vinnie figure things out—no promises, and no sex.
It seems like a simple plan, until their “no-sex” night turns into the best date of their lives and forges a connection that complicates everything.
Product Warnings
This book deals with alcoholism, broken promises, and overbearing little sisters.
Excerpt
Copyright © 2012 Heidi Cullinan & Marie Sexton
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
The truth about Vincent Fierro’s sexual orientation came to him as he lay underneath a client’s sink, de-clogging onion skins from a busted garbage disposal in a two-bedroom condo on Aldine. I wonder, he mused, if maybe I’m gay.
The thought made him jerk his head back against the sink trap hard enough to give him a goose egg, and he swore under his breath as he tried to push the alarming idea away and focus on the job at hand. Though the job was tedious, it was uncomplicated, and no sooner had he dismissed the dark little thought it was back again.
It was stupid. Vince knew he wasn’t gay.
He blamed the onion fumes and his rumbling stomach, imagining them tangling with the knowledge he hadn’t had a date in a month and hadn’t been laid since Cara Paglia had taken him home to cheer him up after his last divorce, which had been in October. It had been too long since he’d given the old boy a ride, so long that answering a call for a gay married couple made him think for one idiot second that maybe that was his problem, why he had broken his mama’s heart with divorce number three. That maybe his problem was that he was looking in the wrong pasture.
Vince rolled his eyes at himself and pulled out more onion goop. It was middle age, that’s what it was. It was his sister-in-law the beautician suggesting at dinner the night before that he let her start coloring and highlighting his hair now while the gray was just barely noticeable. It was realizing a couple days a week at the gym and walking from Emilio’s to his brother’s house every other Sunday wasn’t enough to keep his three-year-old niece from asking if she could rest her head on his “nice squishy tummy” while they watched Tangled for the fiftieth time. It was finding out kids born the year he graduated high school were now legal to drink. It was his latest ex-wife leaving him for a twenty-eight-year-old.
It was not because he was gay. Because Vince wasn’t gay. You didn’t marry three women and sleep with how many others and then decide—with your head under a sink and your eyes stinging of onion—that since you were thirty-eight and single you must be gay. Sex with another man wasn’t just some random idea to try on when you’d gone through everything else.
Of course the little devil in the back of his mind had to whisper, It isn’t exactly a random idea, now, is it, Vinnie?
Clearing his throat and mentally drop-kicking the devil back to the rock he lived under, Vince pulled the last of the onion muck out of the housing, wiped his hands on a towel and aimed his flashlight at the naked unit. His brain was blissfully occupied now with assessing rings and seals, and he grimaced as he saw both the blade and the hopper would need to be replaced. Given the unit itself was almost old enough to drink, they’d be better off getting a new one. Pushing himself out from inside the cupboard, Vince adjusted his T-shirt and followed the sound of voices down the hall to give his clients the news. He stopped outside the closed door to the home office, however, caught up in the hushed tones of their conversation.
“—feel so stupid. Why do onion skins clog a sink? Isn’t that what a garbage disposal is for?”
“It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s just old. Maybe the new ones can take it no problem. Don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart.”
“We don’t have the money for this, Kyle. Not with me laid off. God, but I wish—” The speaker broke off, and Vince thought he caught a muffled sigh.
“Shh. Hush. It’s going to be all right. You’re going to get another job. And if we don’t replace the disposal right away, then we’ll just do without for a little while.”
“That’s all we’re doing, living without. And it’s all my fault—”
The first man was quite clearly near tears, but Kyle only got calmer and gentler the more upset his partner became. “It is not your fault. It’s the slimy sub-prime mortgagers and those assholes who made trading their s**t a game who started this.”
“I should never have switched jobs. Never. If I’d stayed at First Union, I’d have seniority, and I’d still have a job.”
“Bill, stop. You’re making yourself crazy over a clogged sink.”
“That’s what I feel like! A clogged man.” Vince heard the speaker choke back a sob before adding in an angry whisper, “I don’t know what the f**k you still see in me. I wouldn’t even blame you if you went off with some hot young thing with healthy self-esteem, a full head of hair and a job.”
“If he had good health-insurance benefits and a low-mileage vehicle, I might be tempted.” On the other side of the door, Vince imagined Kyle lifting the other man’s chin and staring him in the face as he spoke. “Honey, I know this is rough. And I know damn well I’d be the same kind of wreck if it’d been me laid off for eighteen months. But you have to stop beating yourself up. You didn’t break the garbage disposal. It just broke. You didn’t make a bad move on your job. You just got screwed. And I don’t care if you lose every hair on your head and gain twenty pounds. I love you, I married you, and you’re going to have to work a lot harder than this to get rid of me.”
No more sounds came from the room into the hallway except the occasional soft smack of lips parting and reuniting at a new angle. Vincent slipped quietly back to the kitchen, where he leaned on the wall next to the fridge and shut his eyes against the strange ache inside him.
That. He wanted that. Even as he reassured himself that was just a healthy relationship he’d heard, not a magical gay relationship, he couldn’t stop the deeper, more aching whisper from rising up inside him. I want a man to treat me like that.
Pushing the thought away in a panic, he headed back down the hallway, louder this time, clearing his throat and rapping smartly on the wood. The taller blond man opened it, moving to shield his partner from view as he blew his nose noisily into a tissue. “Finished already?”
Vince cleared his throat a second time. “Here’s the deal. It’s an old unit. I’m not gonna lie. A good chunk of the guts are dull or near to useless. The clog didn’t help much, but all it did was point out trouble that was already there.”
The man grimaced. “I see. So we need a new unit.”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Vince rubbed the back of his neck. “It’d be best, yeah. But if you wanted, you could limp this along a bit longer, if you were careful. I can jimmy the blade a bit, buy you time. It’d mean you’d be putting a lot of junk you’d normally send down the disposal into the trash instead until you replaced it. No onion skins. No potato peels or carrot shreds. But soggy cereal, pasta—anything that isn’t stringy or sticky or hard—would be okay in small batches and with a lot of water. Give it extra time to chop, ’cause it’ll need it. And in the meantime, you can save up for what you want. Do some research on how powerful you want it and then watch for a sale. I’ll leave some names for brands to watch for and ones to avoid. When you get what you want, give us a call and we’ll install it.”
The blond man didn’t answer right away, meeting Vince’s gaze instead as he took it all in. A silent conversation seemed to follow.
Heard us, did you?
Yep. Just trying to help. Know what it’s like.
And you don’t mind that we’re gay, big burly Italian boy like you?
Vince shrugged and averted his eyes.
“Thank you,” the man said. “I believe we’ll take your advice and limp along until we can save up. That was very thoughtful of you to suggest such a plan.”
“Not a problem.” Vince jerked his head toward the kitchen. “I’ll clean up and do a quick job on the blade. You want to put a cake pan or something under it for tonight. It shouldn’t leak, but if it does, that means you start shopping right now.”
“I will,” the man promised.
Vince felt good about himself for helping people in a tight spot, trying not to think of all the crazy s**t he kept trying to think of instead. He was doing really well all the way up until he was scribbling brand names on the back of a business card and the blond man came into the kitchen holding out an envelope. “I want you to have these. They’re vouchers for tickets to a theater I manage down on Broadway.”
Vince held up a hand in protest. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I do.” The man smiled. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I know you heard us talking about money. And I also know you haven’t so much as batted an eye at the fact that we’re gay men.”
“Well, we are in Lakeview,” Vince said, voice heavy with meaning, and hoped he didn’t have to finish the rest of that sentence.
“You’d be surprised.” He thrust the tickets at Vince again. “Please. They’re good anytime from now until the rest of the year. Consider them a token of my sincere appreciation. And stop by the office if you use them. I’ll make sure you get good seats and complimentary drinks for the night.”
Not knowing what else to do, Vince took the envelope with a gruff nod.
The man caught his hand and squeezed it gently. “I hope someday someone gives you the kind of lift you gave me and my husband tonight. And be sure of it, I’ll be using Parino Brothers Plumbing from now on.”
Vince escaped shortly after that, leaving his card and a bill and accepting a check and two enthusiastic handshakes before heading back to the van. The strange flush of emotions and potential self-discoveries went back to the shop with him, and they followed him home as well, lingering through his solitary meal, a soak in the tub and all the way through two glasses of brandy.


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April 11th, 2013

Don’t Forget!
If you’re an author who writes western romances and would like for us to PIMP your book on Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy, which occurs every Thursday, drop us a line with the information shown below including the cover at [email protected] and we’ll hook you up.
With that being said…our author on deck this week is Lorelei James’ Short Rides

Title: Short Rides
Author: Lorelei James
Series: Rough Riders – Anthology
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Western/Cowboys
Publisher: LJLA, LLC
Length: 169 pages

Summary:
Short Rides is an anthology compilation of two novellas and one short story in the Rough Riders world. These are NOT meant to be read as standalone stories, but are a peek into favorite character’s lives after the happily ever after…
The stories included in the Short Rides anthology are:
King of Hearts* – Deputy Cam McKay deals with a murder/suicide case on Valentine’s Day.
Rough Road – Chassie, Trevor and Edgard Glanzer spend a romantic weekend away from the ranch and kids celebrating their anniversary…only to return home to face their biggest challenge yet.
All Knocked Up – Keely and Jack Donohue are having a baby. Given Keely’s raging pregnancy hormones, will Jack need to wear a cup in the delivery room?
*previously published in the Guns and Roses anthology in 2012
Excerpt:
Keely—seven months pregnant…
Keely West McKay Donohue had this pregnancy thing down pat.
Well, except for the occasional glitches when her heightened emotional state hit overload and she had a teeny, tiny, barely noticeable…episode or two.
Most of those incidents hadn’t really been her fault.
Like when the grocery store had run out of her brand of laundry soap again and she’d attempted to express her displeasure to the manager. But he’d refused to listen to reason, calling her consumer’s request a crazy woman’s rant, puh-lease—she hadn’t even hit rant stage. Then the weasel had barricaded himself in his office, had her escorted from the premises by a pimply fifteen-year-old and banned her from the store for life. Luckily, the other grocery store in town had been much more accommodating. They’d even assigned her a shopping assistant to personally escort her through the store every time she showed up.
And Jack could’ve prevented the incident last month if he’d just taken her out for finger steaks like she’d asked him to. His refusal to understand the depth of her craving had forced her to cook the yummy bits of breaded and fried steak herself. So, it wasn’t completely her fault that she’d accidentally started a small grease fire in the kitchen and she’d had to call the fire department. The fire department in turn had called the local ambulance crew, and they had contacted her brother Cam—a Crook County Deputy—who had called her entire family. Except no one had remembered to call her husband. So when Jack had come home after work to see the driveway filled with emergency vehicles and McKays, he’d lost his mind.
She’d had to spray him down with the hose to cool him off. Then she’d really caught hell for ruining his bajillion-dollar, triple-worsted wool suit crafted out of special sheep butt hairs or some such. And people claimed she was on edge during this pregnancy?
Besides, Jack had it easy. His job as her baby daddy entailed three things:
1) Sucking it up and listening to her every pregnancy complaint like she was reciting secret stock tips.
2) Keeping her fed and never ever ever mentioning the amount of food she consumed on a daily basis.
3) Fulfilling her sexual needs whenever and wherever she wanted; or keeping his dick far away from her on those bad pregnancy days she suspected she’d chop it off if he showed it to her. Happily those days were mostly behind them now.
Not such a hard list. So why was he dragging his loafers on getting on with checking off task number three today?
Keely had even given him a choice on where he could perform his husbandly duties. While she waited for him to choose, she studied her hot hunk of manflesh. The man defined sexy—who could blame her for wanting to jump his bones all the damn time? His dark hair was disheveled from constantly running his fingers through it. His silk paisley tie remained neatly knotted and he hadn’t taken off his suit jacket, which in her mind meant he hadn’t really started to work yet. So this was the perfect time for a break. Besides, Jack never really meant no.
“Come on, Jack.”
“No.”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” she said, adding a purring rowr.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Jack said, without looking away from his computer screen. “And stop staring at my crotch to see if I’m getting hard,” he warned her.
“Just tell me if your boxers are getting tight?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because A, I’m thinking about work not sex, and if you want to see me before midnight, which isn’t likely, you’ll find a way to entertain yourself and let me finish this. B, if I do take your offer to bend you over the conference table and fuck you until you scream, guaranteed one of your ten billion family members will decide to pop in and interrupt us. Again.”
Keely crossed her arms over her chest trying not to feel self-conscious. She could almost rest them on her protruding belly. “That was not my fault. I cannot control my family, Jack.”
“I know that only too well,” he muttered. “Besides, don’t you have a client scheduled?”
“She had to cancel.” That’s when she knew she should’ve lied. He’d see her offer as a way to kill time. When in actuality, she saw it as a chance to revisit their spontaneous pre-pregnancy trysts for the first time in what seemed like weeks.
Jack stopped typing and looked at her sharply. “Just because you’re bored doesn’t mean I am.”
Bored? Fuck that and fuck you too, buddy. Or better yet, I wouldn’t fuck you right now if you begged me. In fact…Then just like that surly girl disappeared and weepy woman took her place.
Awesome. She hadn’t run this hot and cold even as a teenager. She hated that a curt word or a scowl from him set her off into a fit of rage or a river of tears. Yet she was sick of him and everyone else muttering about her out-of-whack hormones.
So she opted to take the high road for a change. “Sorry to interrupt you.” Keely pushed off the doorframe and pulled the door shut behind her. Not slamming it. Point for her.


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